BALTIMORE -- Like a lunar eclipse, a Baltimore win over Boston can only happen under precise astronomical conditions.

First, the previous game must take place on a Tuesday night and be decided by one run. Next, you have to put Erik Bedard and Tim Wakefield on the mound. That's the exact formula for both Baltimore wins over Boston this year, with the latest a 4-0 win on Wednesday night. In all other circumstances, the Red Sox are 12-0 against the Orioles.

In fact, it's gotten to the point that Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo -- a man with an encyclopedic memory of his time in baseball -- can't even remember his team's last win against Boston. Just for the record, it came on May 17, and it was a 4-3 decision at Camden Yards. Both victories came after 6-5 losses the night before.

"When was it? I don't remember a whole lot, to be honest with you," Perlozzo said. "You remember a lot of losses and a lot of games you thought you were in and battled hard [to win]. For some reason or another, we just couldn't hold it down. We're trying to play this thing out and play it hard, and guys are doing great with that.

"We'll just keep plugging away the rest of the season."

The record is one thing, but the scoring margin is every bit as one-sided. The Red Sox have outscored the Orioles 99-56 this season, and five of Boston's wins have been by six runs or more. Since last season, Boston is 17-2 in its last 19 games against Baltimore, and former Red Sox regular Kevin Millar has been on both sides.

"What was it, [13] straight at one point? That's hard to do, no matter who you are," said Millar, Baltimore's first baseman and designated hitter. "We just haven't found a way to beat these guys, and tonight, Erik Bedard basically did it by himself. ... He two-hit them and shut them out for seven, so I'd say he was on."

Bedard was dominant, much like he was in the earlier win against the Red Sox (77-68). The southpaw threw seven innings of two-hit ball in both games, and both times, he was also supported by a two-run homer from Millar.

This time, despite the similarities, Bedard (14-9) was even better. He only allowed one runner to reach second base and walked two batters -- both of which came after the second inning.

"If we could space that out pretty well, we'd have him pitch against them all the time," Perlozzo said. "Erik's been great. We've had some good games pitched against them and haven't come up in the win column."

"He's got a fastball with plenty of velocity," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "He had cut and sink tonight. Good sink. And he had a good breaking ball and threw a lot of strikes. So that's a good combination."

Wakefield wasn't nearly as sharp. In his return from the disabled list, the knuckleball specialist gave up a pair of two-run rallies, and Millar was in the middle of both of them. The DH reached on a fielder's choice and a throwing error in the second inning, allowing one run to score, and scored from third base on yet another throwing error.

He scored in a more traditional way in the fifth, when he blasted a two-run homer to left field off Wakefield. Baltimore (63-82) had stranded two runners on base in the third inning and three more in the fourth, so Millar's shot gave Perlozzo some room to breathe.

"I was thinking about that as it was going on, thinking they were going to come back and possibly haunt us," he said. "We were able to take advantage of a couple mistakes they made, and Kevin gave us a big home run."

"That's the whole thing, is the consistent at-bats," said Millar, who has three home runs in his last nine games. "Early on, the roster was unstable with myself and Javy [Lopez] and [Jeff] Conine. You didn't have a chance to have a bad game, be in there the next day and make the adjustments.

"Now, the adjustments are there and I'm swinging the bat well. It's just the consistency of the at-bats, like I said."

Veteran reliever Todd Williams pitched the eighth for the Orioles, and closer Chris Ray pitched a perfect ninth to seal the game. Still, the story of the game was Bedard, who has steadily evolved into Baltimore's staff ace.

"He's unbelievable. He's turned a corner," Millar said. "He's turned a corner as one of the elite pitchers in the big leagues, and he's done that for us all year. ... He set the tone, we got a two-run lead and he held it."

"I'm proud. I just don't show it. I just go out there and pitch," said Bedard. "I'm not trying for anything. I'm just going out there and trying to win every start. If I win 15, I win 15. If not, I don't.

"I'm just more mature and more consistent with the strike zone. Before, if I got behind, I was a little scared to just go after them. I was nitpicking too much. Now, I just throw it and let them hit it."